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In the Matter of ) File Number EB-03-KC-061
)
Alliance Communications Partners, ) NAL/Acct.
LP ) No.200332560025
Owner of Antenna Supporting )
Structure 1006376 ) FRN 0005-7978-99
in Ellsinore, Missouri
Denver, Colorado
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: April 14, 2003
By the Enforcement Bureau, Kansas City Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find Alliance Communications
Partners, LP, owner of antenna supporting structure #
1006376 located near the intersection of SR A and CR 346 in
Ellsinore, Missouri, apparently liable for forfeiture in
the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for willful
and repeated violation of Section 17.50 of the Commission's
Rules (``Rules'').1 Specifically, we find Alliance
Communications Partners, LP apparently liable for failure
to repaint its antenna structure as often as necessary to
maintain good visibility.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On March 29, 2003, an agent of the Commission's
Kansas City Field Office inspected a cable television
antenna structure located at 36° 55' 50'' North Latitude
and 90° 45' 00'' West Longitude, near the intersection of
SR A and CR 346 in Ellsinore, Missouri. Antenna Structure
Registration (``ASR'') number 1006376 was displayed on the
building at the base of the tower. The Commission's ASR
database showed Alliance Communications Partners, LP as
owner of the antenna structure and that the structure
required marking and lighting. At the time of the
inspection, the paint on the structure was badly faded and
peeling, resulting in poor visibility of the structure.
3. On April 2, 2003, the agent interviewed Mr. Steve
Bell of Cablevision Communications, a subsidiary of
Alliance Communications Partners, LP. Mr. Bell is plant
manager for the cable system in Ellsinore, Missouri. Mr.
Bell stated he did not know when the tower was last
painted, although he thought ``maybe 7 or 8 years ago,''
and that the company had known for a couple of years that
this tower needed repainting. Mr. Bell stated that no
estimates of cost or time frames for tower painting had
been obtained.
III. DISCUSSION
4. Section 17.50 of the Rules states that antenna
structures requiring painting under this part shall be
cleaned or repainted as often as necessary to maintain good
visibility. Alliance Communications Partners, LP is the
registered owner of antenna structure number 1006376 and is
responsible for maintaining the structure's marking.2 The
ASR for this structure requires that the structure be
painted. From at least March 29, 2003, through April 2,
2003, Alliance Communications Partners, LP failed to
maintain good visibility of its antenna structure. Based
on the evidence before us, we find that Alliance
Communications Partners, LP willfully3 and repeatedly4
violated Section 17.50 of the Rules by failing to clean or
repaint the antenna structure as often as necessary to
maintain good visibility of the antenna structure markings.
5. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,5 the
base forfeiture amount for failure to comply with the
prescribed marking is $10,000. In assessing the monetary
forfeiture amount, we must also take into account the
statutory factors set forth in Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended (``Act''), which
include the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of
the violation, and with respect to the violator, the degree
of culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability to
pay, and other such matters as justice may require.6
Considering the entire record and applying the factors
listed above, this case warrants a $10,000 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Act,7 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80 of the Rules,8 Alliance Communications Partners, LP is
hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE
in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for willful
and repeated violation of Section 17.50 of the Rules by
failing to clean or repaint its antenna structure as often
as necessary to maintain good visibility of the antenna
structure markings.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date
of this NAL, Alliance Communications Partners, LP SHALL PAY
the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a
written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the
proposed forfeiture.
8. Payment of the forfeiture may be made by mailing a
check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the
Federal Communications Commission, to the Forfeiture
Collection Section, Finance Branch, Federal Communications
Commission, P.O. Box 73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482.
The payment should note the NAL/Acct. No. and FRN
referenced above. Requests for payment of the full amount
of this NAL under an installment plan should be sent to:
Chief, Revenue and Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th
Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.9
9. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445
12th Street SW, Washington DC 20554, Attn: Enforcement
Bureau-Technical & Public Safety Division and MUST INCLUDE
THE NAL/Acct. No. referenced above.
10. The Commission will not consider reducing or
canceling a forfeiture in response to a claim of inability
to pay unless the petitioner submits: (1) federal tax
returns for the most recent three-year period; (2)
financial statements prepared according to generally
accepted accounting practices (``GAAP''); or (3) some other
reliable and objective documentation that accurately
reflects the petitioner's current financial status. Any
claim of inability to pay must specifically identify the
basis for the claim by reference to the financial
documentation submitted.
11. Under the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of
2002, Pub L. No. 107-198, 116 Stat. 729 (June 28, 2002),
the FCC is engaged in a two-year tracking process regarding
the size of entities involved in forfeitures. If you
qualify as a small entity and if you wish to be treated as
a small entity for tracking purposes, please so certify to
us within thirty (30) days of this NAL, either in your
response to the NAL or in a separate filing to be sent to
the Technical & Public Safety Division. Your certification
should indicate whether you, including your parent entity
and its subsidiaries, meet one of the definitions set forth
in the list provided by the FCC's Office of Communications
Business Opportunities (OCBO) set forth in Attachment A of
this Notice of Apparent Liability. This information will
be used for tracking purposes only. Your response or
failure to respond to this question will have no effect on
your rights and responsibilities pursuant to Section 503(b)
of the Communications Act. If you have questions regarding
any of the information contained in Attachment A, please
contact OCBO at (202) 418-0990.
12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL
shall be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail Return
Receipt Requested to Alliance Communications Partners, LP,
360 S. Monroe, Suite 600, Denver, CO. 80209.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Robert C. McKinney
Kansas City Office
Enforcement Bureau
Attachment
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 17.50.
2 See 47 C.F.R. § 17.6(a).
3 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which
applies to violations for which forfeitures are assessed
under Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that ``[t]he term
`willful', when used with reference to the commission or
omission of any act, means the conscious and deliberate
commission or omission of such act, irrespective of any
intent to violate any provision of this Act . . . .'' See
Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC Rcd 4387-88
(1991).
4 The term ``repeated,'' when used with reference to the
commission or omission of any act, ``means the commission or
omission of such act more than once or, if such commission
or omission is continuous, for more than one day.'' 47
U.S.C. § 312(f)(2).
5 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
6 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
7 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
8 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
9 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.